Banks, Utilities, Telecoms Top Most Hated Companies List

The stuff American consumers love to hate are mostly things we use all the time. BusinessInsider updated their Top 18 list today, and it’s what you’d expect with airlines and telecommunication companies dominating the list. With Occupy Wall Street bringing even more attention to the companies that contributed to the economic meltdown, several banks made it too.

The list is based on survey data from the America Consumer Satisfaction Index. Due to a rating decline of 16 points this year, Pepco (Potomac Electric) took the booby prize. It’s reported in the piece that Pepco customers experience 70 percent more outages that comparable big city utilities, and the lights stay out twice as long. Take that Long Island Power Authority.

Having done some “social CRM” work myself, I can tell you it’s the nature of the beast with things you use every day, and suffer a customer service merry-go-round when they don’t work properly. The reason other airlines and banks haven’t made the list is partially due to a more thoughtful, more public approach to resolving problems. However, despite the now-legendary @ComcastCares feed, Comcast still sits at the top at #4. And Facebook (you get what you pay for) comes in at #9 due to privacy beefs.